With holiday supplies already covering the store shelves, Seneca families, churches and groups are working to make Christmas a reality for needy kids around the world by filling shoeboxes with toys, school supplies, hygiene items and notes of encouragement. Operation Christmas Child, the world’s largest Christmas project of its kind, is ramping up as Seneca residents prepare to collect 3,800 gift-filled shoeboxes during National Collection Week, which runs November 18–25. At the Seneca collection site, anyone can drop off a gift-filled shoebox to send to a child overseas. Then using whatever means necessary, the shoebox gifts will be delivered to children worldwide. For many children, the shoebox gift will be the first gift they have ever received. The Seneca Collection Site is located at New Hope Baptist Church on Keowee School Road. Hours of operation are Nov. 18-22 from 5pm to 8pm, Nov. 23 from 10am to 12am, Nov. 24 from 1pm to 5pm and Nov. 25 from 10am to 12pm. Though the shoebox gifts will often travel thousands of miles, Operation Christmas Child offers a way for participants to follow their box, by using the donation form found at samaritanspurse.org. Donors will receive an email telling the country where their […]